Washington, September 11 (ANI): Using a carbon nanotube instead of traditional silicon, Cornell University researchers have created the basic elements of a solar cell that hopefully will lead to much more efficient ways of converting light to electricity than now used in calculators and on rooftops.... Read more.

Washington, Feb 22 (ANI): NASA has awarded the University of Colorado at Boulder a sum of one million dollars to lead the study of a space observatory to find Earth-like planets in distant solar systems and open the search for finding extraterrestrial life.

The CU-Boulder planetary proposal, called the New Worlds Observer, was one of 19 proposals for major new observatories in the coming decade selected for further study.

According to Professor Webster Cash, chief scientist on the effort, “The New Worlds Observer proposal features a giant, daisy-shaped plastic “starshade” to block starlight and allow a telescope to image the faint light from distant planets circling other stars.”

“Astronomers will, for the first time, be able to identify planetary features like oceans, continents, polar caps and cloud banks and even detect biomarkers like methane, oxygen and water if they exist,” he added.

The 4-meter telescope planned for the project will be larger and more powerful than the 2.4-meter mirror on the Hubble Space Telescope, allowing researchers to record the light from rocky planets tens of trillions of miles away.

“The telescope and its 50-yard-diameter starshade would launch into an orbit roughly 1 million miles from Earth, with the parasol unfurling and moving via thrusters into the lines of sight of nearby stars thought to harbor planets,” said Cash.

According to Cash, “New World Observer is a clean win for us because we got full funding and high ratings from NASA.”

“This puts us on firm footing to compete with the other mission concepts for the right to build the next major observatory in space,” he said.

The estimated cost to design and build the New Worlds Observer mission would be roughly 3.3 billion dollars. (ANI)

Washington, Feb 21 (ANI): Britney Spears’ unfortunate driving-without-a-license case has been postponed in a Van Nuys, California, courtroom.

The delay came after the 26-year-old star’s attorneys argued that she was not “mentally capable” of giving a deposition or signed declaration.

Now a new hearing date has been set to be March 20, by Superior Court Judge T.K. Herman.

Last august, the ‘Toxic” star was charged for hit and run and driving without a license after crashing into a parked car.

However, the hit and run charge was dropped after she came to a settlement with the car owner.

Meanwhile, Spears was placed under the conservatorship of her father and an attorney on Feb1 after she was admitted to UCLA Medical Center for a psychological evaluation. (ANI)

Washington, Feb 19 (ANI): In what might be a breakthrough in the next generation of electric and hybrid cars, scientists have developed new and improved polymer membranes that may in turn develop bigger, safer, and more powerful lithium ion batteries.

Already polymer membranes are an essential element of lithium ion batteries that power iPods, laptop computers, and other portable electronic devices.

According to an article by C and EN Senior Editor Alexander H. Tullo, such porous, hair-thin separators control the flow of electrons through the battery.

He said that the failure of these membranes can result in overheating and even fires. And this was the reason that recently prompted the widespread recall of millions of lithium ion batteries.

Tullo indicated for an effective use of these lithium ion batteries, they need to be bigger, safer, and more powerful. And for that purpose, improved polymer separators are required.

To tackle this challenge, battery manufacturers are developing new polymer separators with greater porosity for improved power flow and stronger insulation materials for improved safety.

According to the article, at least one manufacturer is already using a new type of polymer separator in a new line of electric vehicles, while other advanced polymers are making their way through the development pipeline.

“The reality of driving to work under electric power may only be a hair away,” said Tullo.

The article is published in the recent issue of Chemical and Engineering News, ACS’ weekly newsmagazine. (ANI)

Washington, Feb 15 (ANI): Researchers from Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry have moved a step closer to developing a new class of effective asthma and allergy drugs.

The researchers found an important target that holds significant promise for millions of people suffering from allergies, asthma, rheumatoid arthritis and a range of other inflammatory diseases.

The study showed that a key component of the body’s own response to allergy-causing agents (allergens) can be targeted to reduce allergic reactions in mice.

In the study, the researchers found that by targeting a molecule called p110delta it is possible to interfere in the allergic reaction before symptoms occur, and without shutting down the immune system.

p110delta is a member of a family of eight proteins called PI3Ks, which control important biological functions. Their activity is implicated in many different diseases including cancer, and they are an important target for drugs.

However, drugs that act on all PI3K family members tend to be toxic in the body. For this reason the researchers used genetic techniques to find out which PI3K family members are linked to specific diseases.

By gaining a better understanding of each PI3K researchers hope to target drugs more specifically and reduce the potential for side effects.

The p110gamma member of the PI3K family had earlier been implicated in allergic reactions and was thought to be more important than p110delta.

However, in the current study, it has been confirmed that p110delta, but not p110gamma, is important for allergic reactions in a mouse model.

The new findings will help to inform and drive decisions in industry to prioritise which PI3K family members should be targeted for further investment and development.

The next step is to develop p110delta blockers is now ongoing in industry, and is expected to proceed into the preclinical arena in humans in the near future.

” This work shows that we have the potential to take control of the body’s reaction to an allergen and prevent symptoms from occurring,” said lead author of the study, Dr Khaled Ali.

Professor Bart Vanhaesebroeck added: “This work confirms our previous findings and shows once and for all that in an allergic reaction it is p110delta that is the key player among the PI3K molecules.”

“We are very hopeful that a drug for human patients can be developed in the very near future. This approach offers the potential for therapies for asthma and allergies that target the real causes, not just symptoms,” Vanhaesebroeck added.

The study is published in The Journal of Immunology. (ANI)

London, February 13 (ANI): Physicists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have made a significant advance in understanding the puzzling nature of high-temperature superconducting materials that conduct electricity without any resistance at temperatures well above absolute zero.

The research team claims that its discovery may overturn theories about the state of matter in which superconducting materials exist just before they start to superconduct.

Eric Hudson, MIT assistant professor of physics, says that understanding high-temperature superconductors is one of the biggest challenges in physics today.

In a study report, he says that most superconductors only superconduct at temperatures near absolute zero. However, about two decades ago, it was found that some ceramics can superconduct at higher temperatures, he adds.

The report further states that, though such high-temperature superconductors are being used for many applications like cell-phone base stations and a demo magnetic-levitation train, their potential applications could be much broader.

“If you could make superconductors work at room temperature, then the applications are endless,” Nature Physics quoted Hudson as saying.

Superconductors are superior to ordinary metal conductors such as copper because current does not lose energy as wasteful heat as it flows through them, thus allowing larger current densities. Once a current is set in motion in a closed loop of superconducting material, it will flow forever.

The researchers looked at a state of matter that superconductors inhabit just above the temperature at which they start to superconduct.

During the superconducting state, all electrons in a material are at the same energy level. The range of surrounding, unavailable electron energy levels is called the superconducting gap.

It is considered to be a critical component of superconduction because it prevents electrons from scattering, and thereby eliminates resistance and allows the unimpeded flow of current.

Just above the transition temperature when a material starts to superconduct, it exists in a state called the pseudogap. This state of matter is not at all well understood, say the researchers.

Hudson’s team decided to investigate the nature of the pseudogap state by studying the properties of electron states that were believed to be defined by the characteristics of superconductors: the states surrounding impurities in the material.

It had already been shown that natural impurities in a superconducting material, such as a missing or replaced atom, allow electrons to reach energy levels that are normally within the superconducting gap, so they can scatter.

Using a new method called scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM), the researchers have shown that scattering by impurities occurs when a material is in the pseudogap state as well as the superconducting state.

They say that this finding challenges the theory that the pseudogap is only a precursor state to the superconductive state, and offers evidence that the two states may coexist.

Hudson believes that the method of comparing the pseudogap and superconducting state with the help of STM may enable physicists to understand why certain materials are able to superconduct at such relatively high temperatures.

“Trying to understand what the pseudogap state is a major outstanding question,” he said. (ANI)

London, Feb 13 (ANI): Scientists have discovered the fossils of a new species of dinosaur in Mexico, which possessed a built in horn or trumpet to woo females.

The dinosaur was excavated in an approximately 72-million-year-old rock unit known as the Cerro del Pueblo Formation by an international research team led by scientists from the Utah Museum of Natural History at the University of Utah.

Known as Velafrons coahuilensis, the 72 million-year-old plant-eating dinosaur had a fan-shaped bony crest (horn) on its skull filled with nasal passages.

According to a report in the Telegraph, scientists believe the appendage may have been used as a kind of trumpet, with air blown through it to make showy or seductive sounds to attract mates.

“Scientists are uncertain what Velafrons’ fan-shaped crest would have been used for, but a leading hypothesis suggests mate attraction, which explains the complex nasal passages as a possible musical instrument,” said a University of Utah spokesperson.

Velafrons, a combination of Latin and Spanish meaning “sailed forehead” in reference to its crest, was a duck-billed dinosaur, or hadrosaur.

Like all its relatives, it was a plant eater. Hadrosaurs were common in the late Cretaceous period, but Velafrons is the first dinosaur of its type to be discovered in this part of north America.

Based on the development of several bony features on the skull and skeleton, the scientists believe that this animal was still a youngster at the time of death. Nevertheless, although not yet fully grown, Velafrons would have been on the order of 25 feet long, suggesting an impressive adult size of 30 feet to 35 feet.

According to Dr Terry Gates, from the Utah Museum of Natural History in Salt Lake City, Velafrons represents the first occurrence of a crested duck-billed dinosaur in this region of North America.

“The crested duck-billed dinosaurs are an extraordinary example of vertebrate evolution,” he said.

Unlike other animals where the nose bone lies in front of their eyes, these dinosaurs transformed their skulls so that the nose rested atop their skull. The snout extended backward, up their face, in order to fill the gap left by the relocated nose bone.

This analysis has led to the speculation that breathing was a complex business for Velafrons and its kin, since they had noses on top of their heads. Air flowed through a series of passages into the crest and finally entered a hole above the eyes.

The research team also discovered the remains of a second type of hadrosaur were also discovered, as well as a plant-eating horned dinosaur similar to the famous Triceratops. (ANI)

London, January 21 (ANI): Swiss researchers have devised a novel technique to produce dark-field x-ray images at wavelengths used in typical medical and industrial imaging equipment.... Read more.

London, Jan 20 (ANI): Large number of medicinal plants are at risk of extinction, and could spark a global health crisis, according to experts.... Read more.

Washington, Jan 20 (ANI): Dual implantation of radiation seeds and chemotherapy wafers following surgery may help treat cancerous brain tumours, according to a new study.... Read more.

Washington, January 20 (ANI): Japanese researchers have devised a way to introduce foreign genes into the cells of a diseased organism, so that they may address deficiencies to compensate for malfunctions in the body. ... Read more.

Washington, Jan 19 (ANI): Estimates have revealed that the number of males in the U.S. who will experience Prostatitis during their lifetime has gone up to 50 pct, indicating that the infection has become one of the most common urologic diseases in the country.... Read more.

Washington, Jan 19 (ANI): Swedish scientists are developing new ways to utilise stem cell therapy for developing brain cells in the laboratory, that may be used for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease in future. ... Read more.

London, January 19 (ANI): Small differences between individuals at the DNA level can give rise to dramatic differences in the way genes produce proteins, say McGill University researchers. ... Read more.

Canberra, Jan 17 (ANI): A collaborative research between Australian and US universities has led to the development of a data link that has a connection of one Gigabit per second, which would enable data transfer at an incredibly high speed.... Read more.

Washington, Dec 26 (ANI): Researchers at the University of Chicago Medical Center say that utilizing mouse models to study mutations in a gene called dynein, required for the proper functioning of sensory nerve cells, may pave the way for better treatments for a human nerve disorder known as peripheral neuropathy. ... Read more.

Washington, December 26 (ANI): New research involving brain imaging and genetic studies has for the first time established an association between thinking patterns and liquor addiction. ... Read more.

Washington, Dec 26 (ANI): Scientists at the University of California – Los Angeles (UCLA) have made advancement in the fight against Alzheimer’s, by identifying the reasons why fish oil is a deterrent against the disease... Read more.

Washington, Dec 26 (ANI): A new study has revealed that it would be possible to diagnose and treat Chagas disease in children in low-resource settings with the help of a new targeted screening strategy.... Read more.

Washington, December 26 (ANI): Travellers to tropical countries are highly prone to filarial infections, with river blindness being the most commonly acquired infection between 1997 and 2004, according to a study. ... Read more.